Christine Bryant
The lives of people in different cultures have always interested me. I’ve read many biographies of political leaders, especially women, Golda Meir, Simone Veil, amongst others. But the lives of ordinary people are often equally rich and full of wisdom, though they speak of the mundane, the ups and downs, the challenges which life throws up.
As I write this, I am lucky to be in Josselin, one of the prettiest and most interesting villages in Brittany, northwest France. In summer the flower boxes abound, and the village is currently preparing for the biennial Medieval Festival on July 14. This village has a long history, having been founded in 1002. In the 12th century it was destroyed by Henry II of England. Its chateau and church were rebuilt in the 13th century.
This year the town is honouring 15 of its senior citizens. The criteria for selection were to be at least 99 years old and to have lived a century mostly in this area. Each person has a billboard with a large photo and a résumé of their life with their happiest memory, their most difficult challenge and their philosophy of life. Being deep in rural France, many of them grew up on a farm.
For example, Marcel (99), married in 1948 and was a stone mason with his own company. Restoring the old stone buildings of Brittany has been his life-long passion. During WWII, aged 15, he joined the Resistance. As part of his work he could drive trucks around Brittany. As he did this, he also delivered food to local resistance groups, transported equipment for sabotage operations and picked up valuable information from the Germans. The saddest part was seeing many friends arrested and shot. “But”, he says, “you learn to be strong and resilient and to face up to challenges.”
Another example is Suzanne, 104 when interviewed. She never married and worked all her life in an office. For her also, the war years were most difficult: “The grief of losing so many of my dearest friends”. Her philosophy is simple: “You have to be content, whatever comes your way, and let go all that doesn’t go right.”
The desire to honour people important to the community reminds me of the Walk of Fame in Te Awamutu. However, if you haven’t grown up in the town, you actually don’t know who most of them are or what their contribution was.
The idea of honouring and having respect for older people and the wisdom they have gained goes back to Moses.
The fifth Commandment says: “Honour your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land your God is giving you.”
In Leviticus Moses says: “Stand up in the presence of the elderly and revere your God.” Paul says in his letter to Timothy, a young church leader, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly but exhort him as if he were your father.”
These words underpin the purpose of the Walk of Fame, but a bit more information about the people honoured would be enlightening.
Meanwhile, if you are a grandparent, you have wisdom and experience to pass onto a younger generation. If you are a grandchild, ask questions of your grandparents before it is too late.
